COLLATERAL GENERATION SYSTEM FOR DIRECT MAIL
A collateral generation system generates customized physical collateral on a large scale. Physical collateral can be dynamically generated from creative elements and offers selected based on periodically collected (e.g. daily) information on user interactions with marketers or other entities, marketer rules or campaign goals, or determined insights about the recipient. A collateral generation system can also select and verify a mailing address for intended recipients of physical collateral, and in some implementations, select a printer for a specific piece of physical collateral based on location or other factors.
This application claims a benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 62/269,885, filed Dec. 18, 2015, the content of which is incorporated by reference it its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis disclosure relates to the field of automated collateral generation and transmission.
BACKGROUNDThis disclosure generally relates to generating and sending personalized direct mail. A typical process for sending direct mail to a multitude of recipients takes up to 24 weeks and will generally deliver the same piece of mail to each recipient of the direct mail. The direct mail is completely designed well in advance of mailing including any creative elements as well as any associated offers or promotions, and is intended to be generic or common to each future recipient of the direct mail. Addresses of direct mail recipients are stored in a mailing list and can be added to preprinted direct mail items. Currently, traditional direct mail systems separate the printing and addressing of direct mail into two distinct processes, often performed at two different vendors. First, generic templates of the direct mail are printed without addresses or other personalized information. Next, addresses and fixed personalized details, such as unique promotional codes or names, are added to the already printed templates and subsequently sent for mailing.
Traditional direct mail systems normally print direct mail at one location, as the mailing list used to address the direct mail is generally not usefully sorted to split printing between multiple printers. Consequently, it is difficult to send direct mail to only a relevant subset of a mailing list. After mailing, there is little tracking of sent direct mail and statistics of reception or response rate can have limited accuracy as a result. Existing direct mailing systems are slow and inflexible, both in terms of content and in the selection of recipients to receive direct mail. Bulk mailings are impractical due to inability to match up addressees to specific collateral in a quick and efficient manner.
The figures and the following description describe certain embodiments by way of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein. Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying figures. It is noted that wherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figures to indicate similar or like functionality.
Configuration OverviewIn some embodiments, a collateral generation system generates and sends physical direct mail to a specific user based on information about the specific user and information determined by the collateral generation system to be of interest to the specific user. Additionally, the collateral generation system can receive and analyze feedback on the physical collateral's delivery and reception. Physical direct mail (hereinafter, physical collateral) can be a card, mailer, catalog, letter, envelope, or package, or other physical object sent, often via a mail and/or courier service (e.g. the United States Postal Service, FEDERAL EXPRESS, UNITED PARCEL SERVICE), to a physical mailing address of a user (hereinafter a “mailing”). Each physical collateral item can be associated with one or more marketers representing the source of the mailing and a collateral objective describing the subject or intended effect of the mailing. In some embodiments, collateral objectives are products, services, ad campaigns, or promotional offers determined to be of interest to the user, with the intended effect to inform or remind the user about the product, service, or offer. However, a collateral objective can be any suitable reason for sending physical collateral to a user. Additionally, a physical collateral item can be associated with an incentive such as a discount or promotion code. Each physical collateral item can be personalized or customized to reflect both an associated user and collateral objective. For example, a personalized physical collateral item can be a postcard sent to the mailing address of a user. In this example, the postcard can depict an image of a product previously viewed by but not purchased by the user and include a promotional code for free shipping on the product. Physical collateral items can be associated with a marketer responsible for the content of the physical collateral such as an online retailer or other entity. In some implementations, a single physical collateral item can be associated with multiple marketers, for example a catalog or postcard featuring products offered at multiple different retailers. In implementations utilizing physical collateral mailings associated with multiple marketers, one marketer can be the primary marketer for the physical collateral item and other marketers can be referred to as secondary marketers.
The specific layout and content of a physical collateral item can be described in a plan or representation (hereinafter a “physical collateral plan”) from which the physical collateral can be generated, for example by a large scale printer able to generate bulk quantities of physical collateral at high speeds. In some implementations, a physical collateral plan is a file such as a Portable Document File (PDF) fully describing the physical collateral and including addressing and tracking information. In other implementations, a physical collateral plan can comprise a group of files that fully describe the physical collateral, for example, a PDF template and a text file containing content of fields within the template. In some implementations, one physical collateral plan contains details on many different physical collateral items, or multiple physical collateral plans can be combined to form a larger physical collateral plan associated with multiple physical collateral items.
In some embodiments, physical collateral items may include elements or features facilitating interaction with a computer, such as a printed quick response (QR) code or embedded radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. Physical collateral items may also interface with a computer by means of electrically activated paper, or electrically active elements printed in the paper on which the physical collateral item is printed.
Example EnvironmentA user 102 may be an individual having an online account. The user 102 may interact with marketers 122, publishers 124, and the collateral generation system 110. A user 102 can communicate over a network 120, through a user device 104, through an online account, directly, or in any suitable combination. Users 102 also may be associated with a mailing address and receive physical collateral 136 from a mail service 134. A user device 104 can be a mobile phone, smart phone, laptop or desktop computer, tablet, or any other computing device that a user 102 can use to interface electronically with web servers or systems associated with marketers 122, publishers 124, and/or a collateral generation system 110.
It is noted that the user devices, as well as other devices described herein (e.g., marketer or publisher devices, or the collateral generation system 110) include computing components such at least one processor (and/or controller), a memory, a network interface, and a storage. These devices include operating systems that are stored in memory and/or storage and used with computer programs comprised of instructions (also stored in memory and/or storage) and executable by the processor. By way of example, the memory may be a temporary memory (e.g., random access memory). The storage may be a non-transitory storage device (e.g., a flash memory, magnetic disk). The instructions (e.g., program code or software) stored in the memory and/or storage, which are executable by the processor, may correspond to the modules and/or processes described herein. By way of example, the modules may be program code configured to have the processor perform particular functionality as described. Also by way of example, the processes may correspond to steps executed by the processor to enable a particular output.
Referring back to the user device 104, it may be connected to the marketers 122, publishers 124, or collateral generation system 110 over the network 120, and may be associated with a specific user or users 102. Users 102 can interact over a user device 104 using an online account. User devices 104 can each be associated with a device ID that may uniquely identify the device and information originating from the device. In some implementations, user devices 104 are able to collect user activity data when a user interacts with a marketer 122 or publisher 124. Collected user activity data can be transmitted the collateral generation system 110. For example, a cookie or JavaScript code embedded on a website of a marketer 122 can transmit user browsing information or other user activity information from a user device 104 to the collateral generation system 110.
The collateral generation system 110 may generate physical collateral plans based on received information, according to the embodiment of
A network 120 may have any combination of local area and wide area networks and can be wired, wireless, or a combination of wired and wireless networks. For example, a network 120 may use standard communication protocols, for example hypertext transport protocol (HTTP) or transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) over technologies such as Ethernet, 4G, or a digital subscriber line (DSL). In some implementations, data transmitted over the network 120 can be encrypted.
A marketer 122, in the embodiment of
According to the example embodiment of
In the example embodiment of
In the embodiment of
The user information store 210, in the example embodiment of
The user profile 502 also may include information about interactions between the user and marketers 122, publishers 124, or the collateral generation system 110 (hereinafter “user activity data”). For example, in the embodiment of
In some implementations, user information store 210 may contain information about groups of anonymous users, or groups user profiles without certain identifying information into an anonymous group. In some embodiments, the user profiles of anonymous users (anonymous user profiles) can contain a mailing address but are not associated with user activity information. In these embodiments, anonymous user profiles are associated with a larger group or pool of anonymous users and any user interaction collected for those users is associated with the anonymous pool rather than any individual user 102.
Returning to
The creative element store 214, in some example embodiments, may store creative elements used to generate physical collateral plans. Creative elements may include images, text, templates, and any other suitable information. For example, creative element store 214 may include a product photo, a product name, and a template describing a postcard. For example, a template can include physical characteristics of a physical collateral item, such as dimensions or a type of paper (e.g. cardstock) the physical collateral item will be printed on. In some implementations, a template may be a premade physical collateral plan defining a form factor, and including images, text, and wildcard fields indicating places where data is to be inserted. In other embodiments, a template may define a form factor only, and other content in the physical collateral plan is dynamically assembled using other creative elements.
The information processing module 220 may receive information from user devices 104, marketers 122, publishers 124, and other appropriate sources, according some embodiments. In some implementations, received information can be associated with users 102, user devices 104, marketers 122, publishers 124, or any combination of the above. For example, information processing module 220 can receive user activity or purchase information from a marketer 122 associated with a user 102, for example through a user ID, and the marketer 122. Users 102 also may be recognized based on a device ID of an associated device, through analysis of the data itself, or through any other suitable method. Similarly, the information processing module 220 may receive user activity information from user devices 104. Information received from a user device 104 can also be associated with a device ID indicating which device the information was received from. In some example implementations, received information may be stored in an address graph in nodes connected to each other and preexisting nodes based on the relationships between the received information and existing information in the address graph. For example, in the embodiment of
In some cases, the information processing module 220 may receive and may process information on anonymous users. Anonymous users may be users without an associated user ID and, in some embodiments, anonymous users also are not identified by any marketers 122. In some embodiments, the information processing module 220 groups anonymous users into one or more anonymous user pools. For example, an anonymous user pool may be a group of anonymous users sharing similar characteristics. Information received associated with an anonymous user (e.g. from a user device 104 associated with that user) of an anonymous user pool may be associated with the anonymous user pool rather than the anonymous user. After reaching a threshold size, members of the anonymous user pool may be mailed collectively based on aggregated information characteristic to the anonymous user pool or individually based on their association with the anonymous user pool.
In one embodiment, the verification module 222 checks and stores received information. For example, received user information may be verified by cross checking with other received user information by the same user, for example from a different marketer, or across multiple other users. Users 102 may be associated with multiple user devices 104, for example, a user 102 associated with both a phone and a laptop. In these situations, the verification module 222 may associate the user 102 with both user devices 104. In some implementations, user devices 104 of a user 102 devices are not linked in the collateral generation system, for example, when a user begins using a new or different user device 104. In the case where a user 102 begins using a new user device 104 the verification module 222 may, for example, compare new information associated with the newer device with information obtained from a previous device associated with the user 102 and determine that the newer device should also be associated with the user 102. In some implementations, the verification module 222 optimizes an address graph, for example by pruning nodes and connections unlikely to be significant. For example, nodes can be eliminated based on number of connections or with connections that are accumulated at greater than a threshold rate. For example, public computers, such as a library computer, are likely to accumulate a large number of connections in a short amount of time, and are therefore unlikely to offer useful information about any single user and can be eliminated from the address graph.
The verification module 222 also may select a likely mailing address for a user. In some embodiments, the verification module 222 takes last date of use, frequency of use, and address type into account when selecting a mailing address, for example, the verification module 222 may select the most commonly used residential shipping address associated with the user as the mailing address for that user. In other embodiments, an address graph may be traversed to determine an address associated with a user based on given information about the user. For example, in the embodiment of
Mailing addresses also may be verified against appropriate databases, for example, if a mailing address is a business address it can be checked with a business registry or other data source to verify the correctness of the address. Past user activity data can also be used to select a mailing address, for example, patterns of responses of a user can detect seasonality in addresses. In some example implementations, user addresses may be verified with a mail service to ensure that physical collateral sent to that address will be deliverable, for example mailing addresses can be verified using USPS verification data.
In the example embodiment of
The campaign management module 230 may select users, collateral objectives, and incentives for which physical collateral will be generated, according to the embodiment of
The collateral creation module, in the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
The direct analytics module 260 may analyze received user activity data and physical collateral tracking information to determine statistics or analysis about a specific physical collateral item, a collateral objective, or a campaign goal. To determine if a user has responded to the physical collateral mailing the direct analytics module 260 may analyze user activity associated with a user and tracking information associated with a specific physical collateral item mailed to the user. In some implementations, a user is considered to have responded to a physical collateral mailing if they return to the marketer 122's website or store within a threshold amount of time from receiving the mailing. Similarly, a user 102 may be considered a “conversion” each time they interact with the marketer 122 within a threshold amount of time from receiving the mailing. In some cases, conversions may be based on user purchases from an online store of a marketer 122. User purchases can be determined based on information received from the marketer 122 or user 124, for example, linked to a marketer ID, device ID, or other user ID. In some embodiments, information in an address graph is used to determine conversions based on user activity information added to the address graph. For example, the address graph can be traversed starting from user activity information representing a conversion to find user IDs, marketer IDs, or device IDs associated with a previous mailing.
The direct analytics module 260 also may generate overall statistics about a collateral objective or campaign goal across a wide range of users 102. User response or conversion data can be compiled by the direct analytics module 260 to generate response and conversion statistics. For example, user response data may be compared to the total number of users mailed physical collateral to determine a response percentage. The direct analytics module 260 also may utilize other user, marketer, or publisher information to generate more detailed statistics, for example, the direct analytics module 260 can use geographic data (for example the mailing address of a user) to generate localized response and conversion statistics. Response and conversion statistics may be organized by state, by county, by date, or by any other suitable method and can represent overall response and conversion rates for a publisher, response and conversion rates for a specific collateral objective or incentive, or by any other suitable method. In some implementations, these statistics may be displayed using a map, such as a heatmap with high conversion or response rates in one color, and low conversion or response rates in a different or contrasting color.
In the embodiment of
Similarly, publishers 124 may be viewed as primary marketers for physical collateral items generated based on that publisher or using user activity data provided by the publisher. In these embodiments, other marketers associated with the physical collateral item can be viewed as secondary marketers for the physical collateral item. For example, the highest bidding marketer 122 selected by the publisher bidding module 270 can be selected as a secondary marketer based on having the highest bid in the auction.
Campaign ManagementIn some embodiments, a primary marketer for the physical collateral item may be selected first, for example, based on user interaction with the primary marketer and secondary marketers may later be chosen based on user association, campaign goals, and/or secondary marketer ranking of collateral objectives. According to some example implementations, user activity information or other user information used by the collateral generation system 110 to select the primary and secondary marketers, for example, user browsing data received from an electronic cookie on the user device, is not exposed to the secondary marketers.
The user selection module 320, according to the example embodiment of
According to some embodiments, the secondary marketer selection module 325 selects secondary marketers for a physical collateral mailing based on the primary marketer, user activity data of the associated user, campaign goals of the primary or secondary marketers, or for any other suitable reason. A physical collateral item incorporating both a primary marketer and a secondary marketer can be, for example a catalog incorporating ad content, offers, or products for both the primary marketer and the secondary marketer(s). In some embodiments, secondary marketers may be selected based on a previous association, rule, or partnership stored within the collateral generation system. For example, an online retailer may partner with a manufacturer so physical collateral sent by the manufacturer also can direct customers to the retailer to purchase the manufacturer's product. Similarly, secondary marketers may be dynamically selected based on the results of an auction, such as the auction system employed by the publisher bidding module 270, or based on user interest in products.
The offer selection module 330 selects collateral objectives and incentives for users selected by the user selection module 320, according to the example embodiment of
Similarly, collateral objectives can be associated with specific products or services. In some embodiments, the selection of collateral objectives is based on the stock level of products associated with each collateral objective. For example, collateral objectives can be chosen based on the associated product being in stock or on clearance. This information can be received from marketers 122. Similarly, collateral objectives can be chosen based on the price or profit margin of the associated products. In embodiments where a single physical collateral item is associated with multiple marketers, collateral objectives can be selected based on marketer association.
Collateral CreationThe creative element matching module 420 selects and assembles creative elements and user data to form a physical collateral plan, according to the example embodiment of
Returning to
The collateral sorting module 440 may associate physical collateral plans with printers 130 and determine a correct order or sorting of the physical collateral plans, according to the example embodiment of
A collateral generation system 110 can provide many advantages to users 102 and marketers 122. In some implementations, a collateral generation system can generate and send physical collateral based on user actions or other data received that day or the day before. Similarly, collateral generation system 110 can personalize physical collateral items for a user 102 based on actions of that user 102. In this way, a user 102 can receive a physical collateral item 136 relevant to their current situation both in content and in timing. Additionally, tracking and analytics information provided to marketers 122 from the collateral generation system 110 can allow marketers 122 to better manage any marketing campaigns or promotions involving physical collateral. For example, the results, measured in response or conversion rate, of physical collateral created using a collateral generation system 110 can be improved (for example, a higher response or conversion rate) when compared to a generic, non-personalized direct mail system.
Additionally, the collateral generation system 110 can efficiently distribute physical collateral to printers 130. Because physical collateral plans contain all information on associated physical collateral items, physical collateral associated with multiple marketers 122 and publishers 124 can be split among many printers 130 and mail services 134 for generation and delivery. In some embodiments, this allows printers to be selected based on cost, location, printing capability (for example, for unusual materials or form factors), or for any other suitable reason.
The disclosed configuration enables using periodically collected (e.g., daily) information for the purpose of generation of customized physical collateral on a large scale. Physical collateral can be generated based not only on personalization for the recipient, but also based on marketer rules, and other relevant user activity data, for example response or conversion data recently received from the intended recipient of the physical collateral, or from other recipients of similar physical collateral.
Throughout this specification, plural instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functionality presented as separate components in example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matter herein.
Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms, for example, as illustrated and described through the FIGS. herein. Modules may constitute either software modules (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium or in a transmission signal) or hardware modules. A hardware module is tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardware module that operates to perform certain operations as described herein.
In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implemented mechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module may comprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured (e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) to perform certain operations. A hardware module may also comprise programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within a general-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware module mechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.
The various operations of example methods described herein may be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors, e.g., processor, that are temporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured to perform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modules that operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modules referred to herein may, in some example embodiments, comprise processor-implemented modules.
The one or more processors may also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples of machines including processors), these operations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., application program interfaces (APIs).)
The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be located in a single geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other example embodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be distributed across a number of geographic locations.
Some portions of this specification are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on data stored as bits or binary digital signals within a machine memory (e.g., a computer memory). These algorithms or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those of ordinary skill in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. As used herein, an “algorithm” is a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar processing leading to a desired result. In this context, algorithms and operations involve physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored, accessed, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated by a machine. It is convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals using words such as “data,” “content,” “bits,” “values,” “elements,” “symbols,” “characters,” “terms,” “numbers,” “numerals,” or the like. These words, however, are merely convenient labels and are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities.
Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using words such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions or processes of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical) quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or other machine components that receive, store, transmit, or display information.
As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodiments may be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term “coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.
As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).
In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the invention. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.
Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciate still additional alternative structural and functional designs for a system and a process for collateral generation system for direct mail through the disclosed principles herein. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A method for generating and sending specific direct mail, the method comprising:
- receiving, from a collateral provider, online user activity information associated with identifying user information stored within a collateral generation system, the identifying user information associated with a user of the collateral provider;
- determining, based on the user activity information based and a set of rules associated with the collateral provider that the user should be sent physical collateral;
- identifying one or more addresses stored in the collateral generation system, each address of the set of addresses associated with the identifying user information;
- selecting a physical mailing address for the physical collateral from the identified one or more addresses; generating a file for specific physical collateral based on the user activity information and the rules associated with the collateral provider; and
- transmitting the file for the specific physical collateral to a production device for generation of the specific physical collateral to provide for delivery to the physical mailing address.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving online user activity information associated with identifying user information comprises:
- generating a first node representing the online user activity information within an address graph of the collateral generation system, the address graph comprising a plurality of nodes linked with edges; and
- associating the first node with a second node of the address graph, the second node representing the identifying user information.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein identifying one or more addresses stored in the collateral generation system comprises:
- traversing the address graph from the second node representing the received user identifying information to one or more nodes representing received addresses; and
- identifying the set of addresses associated with the one or more nodes and the graph distance between the second node representing the received user identifying information and each node representing a physical address of the set of physical addresses.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein selecting a physical mailing address for the physical collateral from the identified one or more addresses comprises:
- determining the graph distance between each node representing a physical address of the set of physical addresses and the second node representing the received user identifying information; and
- selecting the address associated with the shortest graph distance as the physical mailing address.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying one or more addresses stored in the collateral generation system comprises:
- accessing a user profile associated with the identifying user information within the collateral generation system; and
- retrieving one or more addresses stored in the user profile.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the user should be sent physical collateral comprises selecting to be sent physical collateral based on targeting criteria associated with the collateral provider.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a file for specific physical collateral based on the user activity information and the rules associated with the collateral provider comprises assembling a creative template, creative elements, and the online user activity information associated with the identifying user information.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein generating a file for specific physical collateral based on the user activity information and the rules associated with the collateral provider comprises verifying the mailing address against the NCOA (National Change Of Address) database.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- receiving, from a physical delivery carrier, tracking information on the delivery of the specific physical collateral; and
- associating the tracking information with the identifying user information within the collateral generation system.
10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by at least one processor causes the processor to:
- receive, from a collateral provider, online user activity information associated with identifying user information stored within a collateral generation system, the identifying user information associated with a user of the collateral provider;
- determine, based on the user activity information based and a set of rules associated with the collateral provider that the user should be sent physical collateral;
- identify one or more addresses stored in the collateral generation system, each address of the set of addresses associated with the identifying user information;
- select a physical mailing address for the physical collateral from the identified one or more addresses;
- generate a file for specific physical collateral based on the user activity information and the rules associated with the collateral provider; and
- transmit the file for the specific physical collateral to a production device for generation of the specific physical collateral to provide for delivery to the physical mailing address.
11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions to receive online user activity information associated with identifying user information further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to:
- generate a first node representing the online user activity information within an address graph of the collateral generation system, the address graph comprising a plurality of nodes linked with edges; and
- associate the first node with a second node of the address graph, the second node representing the identifying user information.
12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the instructions to identify one or more addresses stored in the collateral generation system further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to:
- traverse the address graph from the second node representing the received user identifying information to one or more nodes representing received addresses; and
- identify the set of addresses associated with the one or more nodes and the graph distance between the second node representing the received user identifying information and each node representing a physical address of the set of physical addresses.
13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the instructions to select a physical mailing address for the physical collateral from the identified one or more addresses further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to:
- determine the graph distance between each node representing a physical address of the set of physical addresses and the second node representing the received user identifying information; and
- select the address associated with the shortest graph distance as the physical mailing address.
14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions to identify one or more addresses stored in the collateral generation system further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to:
- access a user profile associated with the identifying user information within the collateral generation system; and
- retrieve one or more addresses stored in the user profile.
15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions to determine that the user should be sent physical collateral further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to select to be sent physical collateral based on targeting criteria associated with the collateral provider.
16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions to generate a file for specific physical collateral based on the user activity information and the rules associated with the collateral provider further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to assemble a creative template, creative elements, and the online user activity information associated with the identifying user information.
17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the instructions to generate a file for specific physical collateral based on the user activity information and the rules associated with the collateral provider further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor causes the processor to verify the mailing address against the NCOA (National Change Of Address) database.
18. A system for generating and sending specific direct mail, the system comprising:
- an information processing module configured to receive, from a collateral provider, online user activity information associated with identifying user information stored within a collateral generation system, the identifying user information associated with a user of the collateral provider;
- a campaign management module configured to: determine, based on the user activity information based and a set of rules associated with the collateral provider that the user should be sent physical collateral; identify one or more addresses stored in the collateral generation system, each address of the set of addresses associated with the identifying user information; select a physical mailing address for the physical collateral from the identified one or more addresses;
- a collateral creation module configured to generate a file for specific physical collateral based on the user activity information and the rules associated with the collateral provider; and
- a publisher bidding module configured to transmit the file for the specific physical collateral to a production device for generation of the specific physical collateral to provide for delivery to the physical mailing address.
19. The system of claim 18, wherein the information processing module is further configured to:
- generate a first node representing the online user activity information within an address graph of the collateral generation system, the address graph comprising a plurality of nodes linked with edges; and
- associate the first node with a second node of the address graph, the second node representing the identifying user information.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the campaign management module is further configured to:
- traverse the address graph from the second node representing the received user identifying information to one or more nodes representing received addresses; and
- identify the set of addresses associated with the one or more nodes and the graph distance between the second node representing the received user identifying information and each node representing a physical address of the set of physical addresses.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 16, 2016
Publication Date: Jun 22, 2017
Inventors: Lewis Gersh (New York, NY), Robert Victor (New York, NY)
Application Number: 15/382,086